The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber) is excited to announce the 47 high school students selected for the 2026 Regional Youth Leadership (RYL) class, representing 38 schools in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. This year’s class marks the 32nd year of the NKY Chamber’s signature youth leadership program.
The mission of Regional Youth Leadership is to cultivate the community leadership skills of local students to bolster the retention of talent to our region. The experiential nature of the seven-month program promotes personal growth and fosters development of leadership skills such as communication, teamwork, and decision making. Sessions occur once a month, and throughout these sessions, the students will be introduced to multiple topics including local government and economic development, arts and culture, human services, health, law, life skills, and leadership.
Students were selected through an extensive application process that included a minimum GPA of 3.0, a demonstration of leadership potential in their school and/or community, and an interest in furthering their knowledge about the region and community leadership.
“Every year, we’re inspired by the drive and talent of the students who join this program, and this class is no different,” said Ann Marie Whelan, NKY Chamber Director of Leadership. “We’re proud to offer them the chance to learn from influential leaders in our community, and we look forward to seeing how they apply the lessons they learn to create meaningful change in our region.”
Regional Youth Leadership Class of 2026
Molly Armstrong, Archbishop McNicholas High School
Eleanor Barker, Villa Madonna Academy
Kavi Bijayananda, Covington Classical Academy
Carden Bozeman, Covington Catholic High School
Caelan Burke, The Summit Country Day School
Alessandro Caggioni, Madeira High School
Madison Cárdenas Clark, Colerain High School
Leanne Cuozzo, Anderson High School
Grayson Davies, Dayton High School
Charlotte Day, Randall K. Cooper High School
Jack Dusing, Covington Catholic High School
Layla Feinauer, Newport High School
Elijah Ford, Beechwood High School
Erika Harris-Foy, Western Hills University High School
Zohaib Kalloo, Indian Hill High School
Sofia Karacostas, Mariemont High School
Rachael Kasipe, Mount Notre Dame High School
Isabella Lachmann, Holy Cross High School
Lillian Lewis, Villa Madonna Academy
Paris Love-Adams, Colerain High School
Madyson Lux, St. Henry District High School
Trisha Maheshwari, Ignite Institute
Ruth Maier, Notre Dame Academy
William Martis, Simon Kenton High School
Mary McIntosh, Mariemont High School
Josiah Montalvo, Calvary Christian High School
Kieran Nauglebaugh, Covington Latin School
Jolay Ndiaye-Owedradgo, Oyler High School
Madalyn Osterhage, Campbell County High School
Sarpomaa Owusu-Boateng, Princeton High School
Ryan Prus, Madeira High School
Logan Purcell, Newport Central Catholic High School
Iyana Robinson, Oyler High School
Sarah Sakami, Lakota West High School
Amelia Sebens, Roger Bacon High School
Johanna Serger, Saint Ursula Academy
Adam Tarvin, Bishop Brossart High School
James Taylor, St. Xavier High School
Olivia Taylor, Owen County High School
Adler Tomeo, School for Creative and Performing Arts
Ian Wallace, Scott High School
Molly Wehner, Saint Ursula Academy
Ainsley Whelan, Ursuline Academy
Nyelle Whisby, Lloyd Memorial High School
Alex Wuest, Covington Catholic High School
Cailyn Youtsey, The Summit Country Day School
Nina Zurad, Larry A. Ryle High School
To learn more about RYL, contact Ann Marie Whelan at amwhelan@nkychamber.com or visit NKYChamber.com/RYL. Regional Youth Leadership is part of the NKY Chamber’s leadership programming alongside Leadership Northern Kentucky and Encounter NKY, all of which are powered by Citi. Presenting sponsors are altafiber, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Duke Energy, Fischer Homes, and Prysmian.
